The Physicians Lady

Chapter 15

The morning that followed was quite dreary, as England was experiencing an unexpected downpour of summer rain. Relishing in the cozy ambiance the consistent dropping of rain gave, Aria sat on the plush velvet settee in the teal drawing room draped in a cool chiffon wrap due to the increased humidity, reading a few chapters from her Bible. "For the Word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord."

She pondered the passage she read for a few moments, then stopped to close her eyes and dwell on the sweet words that had been written in the Word.

The prior afternoon, she and Katie had spoken with Colton and Lord Nicholas about Charles Fredericks murder. Aria chose to omit relaying James' peculiar behavior because she didn't find it imperative to the situation after all. Unless it proved to be connected she would remain silent about it.

An odd occurrence for me. She chuckled lightly to herself. Perhaps mother's chiding for me to be more tactful is coming to merit.

She closed the Bible that rested on her lap and stood up from the settee, rearranging the pillows and smoothing our her gown as she did so. Today she donned a navy, satin gown with a three quarter ruffle sleeve complete with a laced edge with a diagonal cut and precise beading around the cuff. Her bodice also contained the delicate beading and lace trim ran down the length of her full, floor length gown. As she passed through the main hallway towards the staircase she was met by her brother, William.

"Good morning Aria." Will greeted enthusiastically. A bright smile exposed his pearly white teeth as his mouth turned up in a grin. "How fares my favorite sister?" He asked, suddenly changing to a hushed tone at the end of his question as his head swiveled looking around for their sister, Jane.

Aria laughed. Will was insinuating that Aria was his favorite. "Jane is not here Will, she is out enjoying a morning ride. Although, she must be back momentarily or she will be thoroughly soaked in this sudden downpour. "Albeit for me, I am fine, I had a lovely afternoon yesterday."

"Ah yes, to my understanding you had a friendly visit with Lord Nicholas." He said pointedly with raised eyebrows, an amused look crossed his features.

"It is of no consequence to you." Aria replied stubbornly as her eyebrows narrowed at his amusement. He need not make assumptions.

"I am merely jesting Aria, there is no reason to become defensive. Just know that if he ever does anything to you, you come to me. I will not have anyone taking advantage of my little sister."

"I am hardly little William, but thank you for looking out for me. I truly appreciate your concern, but as far as I can tell Lord Nicholas seems like a perfectly wonderful man, kindhearted and godly. I have told no one other than Jane, but I wish he would ask fathers permission to court me as soon as I may end this present courtship with Lord Alcott." Aria replied vulnerably as she softly looked up to her brothers gaze.

"All I ask is that you are cautious with either one of them, or they'll have your big brother to deal with." Will replied with a coy smile, reaching to give Aria a short hug, which she gladly returned.

Breaking away, Aria smiled and remarked "Has Lady Marshall agreed to speak with you again?" She held back a chuckle as her mind thought back to what her father had relayed about Wills mishap.

At the mention of her name, Will's face lit up and his green eyes had a certain twinkle Aria had not seen in him before when he spoke of other woman. "Yes indeed, she has graciously chosen to forgive me and has agreed to a courtship between us. Which reminds me, Aria, you are a woman.." Will rubbed the name of his neck just above the collar of his shirt. "What shall I do to woo her properly?"

Aria was taken aback at his request, as well as amused by his choice of words. "Yes Will, I am a woman." Aria chuckled giving Will a teasing smirk.

"Oh Aria, you understand what I mean!" Will exclaimed exasperatedly.

"I do, I was merely jesting Will, I just happened to find your choice of words amusing. However, if you wish to woo her properly as you say, I would begin with being completely honest with her. If your intentions are truly sincere as I pray they are, she needs to be assured that she is the only woman you now have eyes for. Also, be a gentleman. I know you are, but since you are courting, be more deliberate about it. Bring her her favorite flowers, be romantic, take her to nice places and most importantly, talk to her. Every woman appreciates to know that the man she is with will listen to her." Aria finished, feeling a bit dejected as she said the last part. She never felt like Lord Alcott really took time to listen to anything she said. Yes, she wanted out of the courtship, but would it be so awful to want him to at least listen while they were courting?

She looked up to Will who seemed deep in thought, then he looked to her. "When did you gain such wisdom little sister?" He marveled with a bemused grin. "That is incredibly good advice, I shall indeed take it to heart." He replied giving her another hug.

"Life tends to yield great learning opportunities to pass on for advice." Aria chimed with a thoughtful look. Being one and twenty, Aria did not consider herself old by any means, but in those years, decidedly the most recent she had begun to learn that there are two things you can do with your experiences: learn from them, or let them bring you down. Deciding that she wanted to enjoy the life God gave her regardless of circumstance, Aria knew that learning and growing was the best use of her time.

"Well, I shall take my leave and be on my way in search of a resplendent bouquet for Miss Marshall. If my memory serves me right, she loves lilies." Will replied cheerfully, breaking Aria from her thoughts.

Gazing at her brother, she replied "Of course, I wish you the best with Miss Marshall. And do be cautious in the rain."

"A bit of rain never hurt anyone." Will smiled in response and strode towards the back door to saddle a horse and ride into town.

Acutely aware of the fact that she was now alone as her father was doing some necessary surveying of their land , her mother was in the parlour entertaining a few guests with tea, and Jane was still coming back from her ride and would likely spend some time at the stables with her horse.
Considering options as to what she could do to productively occupy her time, her thoughts once again drifted to Nicholas Sterling.

I wonder if father has any medical books. Perhaps I can study what Nicholas does. If I do, it's possible I could be of help.

That thought prompted Aria to make her way to her fathers study. Lord Alford's study was primarily off limits to anyone other than her father, so she was wary of going in without invitation.

Then again if I told him what I am looking
for, he's bound to refuse.

After all, why would he allow her to study the vocation of the man she wanted to court when in a courtship with another man?

There's no harm in broadening my repertoire. Aria assured herself. And indeed there was nothing wrong with that.

Once she had reached her fathers study without being heard by her mother and her visitors, she stopped short of the door as her thoughts plagued her once more.  Just go in Aria, no sense in standing here thinking about it till father returns.

"You're right." Aria answered herself softly as the brass doorknob gave a click and the hinges creaked as she gently twisted the knob and the hard oak door opened.

Hey guys! Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans! Thank you all so much for being patient with me in getting this chapter uploaded! I'm working on the next chapter now, so another update won't be too far behind. I haven't been keeping up as much with this book lately, so if some things are different or a story line doesn't look right, feel free to point it out so I can fix it! I've been going through and doing a lot of editing lately to fix things up so just a heads up there. You already know I'm up for constructive criticism so don't hesitate to comment and let me know what you think! Love you all and thanks for your support! See you next chapter💕